Russia cannot rejoin the Group of Seven (G7) unless there is significant progress in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements on resolving the Ukrainian conflict, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada’s La Malbaie on Saturday.

“We have discussed Russia’s participation,” she said. “In my view, there is a need for significant progress in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements so for now I don’t see any possibility of Russia’s participation,” Merkel added.

US President Donald Trump earlier called for bringing Russia back to the G7.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte backed the idea, while European Council President Donald Tusk opposed it saying that the G7 should remain unchanged.

The Group of Seven comprises seven of the largest advanced economies in the world – Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and the United States. Russia joined the group in 1997, making it the G8.

In 2014, the group was reformatted back into the G7 in light of events in Ukraine and a crisis in relations between Russia and the West.-TASS